SCG Seattle, Part I

This would be our first experience traveling over 30 minutes in the car with the baby. So we allowed about 5 hours for the trip from Portland to Lynnwood, Washington, and I will brag that my estimate was within minutes of exactness. 5 hours! Whew.

Luckily my son fell asleep, lulled by my massive repertoire of country songs. He particularly enjoys If I Die Young, but also tolerates my renditions of Me & Bobby McGee, House of the Rising Sun, and several original future country hits I've written. We made a very memorable pit stop at an exit whose number I can't remember. We walked our boy down a dead-end street that was decidedly rural, yet was next to the over-developed, strip-malled center of town and basically in the backyard of a Starbucks. This country road had a very cute house with a low split-rail fence, and our son couldn't get enough of standing in front of it and enjoying the shade. What was extremely special and charming was that after a few minutes of this, an adorable little old lady came out and gave us peanut butter cookies! PEANUT. BUTTER. COOKIES. They were crisp and delicious, we told her we were travelers, and she asked where we hailed from, and told us to take all the cookies on the plate. We did, and I thanked her profusely but did not get her name. It's one of those moments that sticks, putting a +1 in the column for Humankind is Inherently Good.

Next we stopped in Seattle, which for me is always double-edged because this is where I lived during my ill-fated first marriage. I love this city, but it has a lot of odd memories, most of which feel like they belong to someone else. Elliot and I took our little baloth to play on the fountain steps across from the art museum. What's ironic is that these steps are part of the development where I lived during that first marriage. Not like near, or close to, but the exact place that I used to live. Despite that, we had a great time and I actually forgot about the loaded nostalgia of the place watching my family enjoy the sunshine and the water.

We were so relieved to get to our hotel. I'll be honest, this Best Western looked like guano from the outside (like old...80's? I'm no architecture buff or historian but...you know, like old crap) but inside it was lovely and comfortable. I'm the type whose patriotism might be questioned at times, so this, the view from our window, is for Mike Linnemann, Gathering Magic's resident Ichiban Vorthos Patriot:

And, to add even more nuance to the luxurious vistas afforded by the Brentwood Best Western, here's a little something for card alterist Jeremy Froggatt, the Community's Alter Professor:

Exhausted from the lengthy commute, we hit up the nearby Grocery Outlet (these are always a great way to save money on road trips, if they're available and you have a microwave/fridge available) and got TV dinners and some...extra treats for Hackworth and Moxy.

Stay tuned for the next installment. I'll actually talk about SCG Seattle! Oh, the joys of family life. Trust me, totally worth it. The journey, not the destination, is it, after all.

'Till next time,
May Magic be your sword.
-MJ